School superintendents take Ice Bucket Challenge

(Left to right) Benton High School Principal Mitch Downey, Assistant Principal Arthur James and Assistant Principal Teri Howe took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge at Benton High School on Wednesday afternoon.(Photo: Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times)

School superintendents in Caddo and Bossier parishes are among millions of Americans participating in a viral fundraising challenge.

Caddo Superintendent Lamar Goree Tuesday accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge, a social media-fueled trend that spotlights amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The ALS Association started the fundraiser July 29. Through Aug. 12, the organization and its 38 chapters received $4 million in donations. That's nearly four times the amount raised in the same period in 2013.

The video- and photo-friendly challenge has exploded online and in the news. Bossier Parish schools Superintendent D.C.Machen submitted to icy water this afternoon. Moonbot Studios took it on earlier this week.

So did employees at LSU Health Shreveport's emergency department. They challenged their counterparts in Baton Rouge and New Orleans to raise money for the ALS Society.

Klein is studying a potential drug to reverse the paralysis that ALS causes and gene therapy to slow or stop the fatal, incurable disease. A drug company is funding the medication research and a private company, Fidelity Biosciences Research Initiative, is funding the gene therapy program.

"In terms of the gene therapy experiment, we have had some positive results," Klein said. "We are cautiously optimistic."

Because ALS is relatively rare -- only four of every 100,000 residents has it -- drug companies hesitate to invest in research for a treatment or cure. There's a single FDA-approved medication available, but it extends an ALS patient's life only a short time, according to information from medication trials.

Besides raising cash, the challenge has exposed more than 70,000 people to a disease that receives little attention unless a famous person develops it. Notable ALS patients include physicist Stephen Hawking, who beat the odds, who has lived with ALS for 50 years. Most people die three to five years after developing symptoms.

Jennifer Steadman, external relations director with the Community Foundation, believes many of those 70,000 donors are young. That's a group nonprofit organizations are wooing through online donation programs.

"Young donors, the eat up and love the social part of things," Steadman said. "The Chronicle of Philanthropy published something that said 84 percent of young donors wanted to give online."

The Ice Bucket Challenge has a sensational hook -- the reactions of people doused with frigid water -- and the element of competition as participants challenge others.

"Anything that stands out is different," Steadman said. "Everyone wants to e part of the cool thing. It's really awesome when that cool thing is charity. It takes on a life of its own."

Cost is another factor driving the move toward online fundraising. The overhead is low compared to an in-person fundraising event like a gala. The Community Foundation and northwest Louisiana nonprofits tested the concept with their 24-hour Give for Good challenge in May.

"We really think online is the next wave of fundraising," Steadman said. "We raised over $1 million in 24 hours. We had competitions among the nonprofit agencies for prizes. There was also the urgency. It was fun."

She isn't sure when the Ice Bucket Challenge will fade but expects other groups to replicate the concept.